Brands that have been in business for decades often have to evolve their businesses over time to cater to the needs of the consumer.
DirectBuy, a members-only seller of home décor and home furnishing products focused on delivering products directly from the manufacturer to the retailer, is no stranger to this concept. The consumer club bucked retail trends as early as the 1970s in introducing its subscription model to shorten the supply chain, and in recent years has made it a goal to further various investments, including:
-
Opening new distribution channels;
Advertisement
-
Deploying sophisticated e-Commerce and mobile technologies; and
-
Building out a seven-days-a-week customer service channel.
Upon making these investments and modifying its membership pricing strategy, orders increased 30% from July 2014 to July 2015.
“The company had underinvested in easier ways to do business in DirectBuy,” said Curt Hilliard, Chief Marketing Officer and EVP of Sales at DirectBuy. “Consumers wanted us to expand product lines and let them shop the way they want to shop.”
Investing Fully In Digital
Catering to these shopper preferences meant remodeling the club’s e-Commerce site to present a cleaner, modern look in 2015. The site includes enhanced search and filtering options, aids members in identifying preferred products and styles, and has enabled the seller to build customer profiles through the collection of behavioral, interest and purchase data.
This web site launch increased conversion rates 35% even as page views declined, demonstrating how improved navigation can quickly get customers to the content most relevant to them.
In addition, the company implemented mobile-responsive design and navigation into the web site to make shopping easier from any device. The change to the design was necessary, especially with more than 50% of DirectBuy’s web site traffic coming from mobile devices.
Today, more than 40% of DirectBuy members access the company’s e-Commerce site via mobile devices to browse, search and shop for merchandise.
“As smartphones proliferated and iPads became couch tools on a Sunday afternoon and consumers realized that they could shop from home, that’s when we recognized there needed to be a change in this organization,” Hilliard said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “In addition to the new members’ web site we launched last summer, we launched the My DirectBuy mobile companion app, with an added feature called ‘I Want That!’”
The new feature allows members to upload product photos — whether taken from the Internet, a hotel lobby or another retail store — to receive details on DirectBuy’s exact or similar product offerings.
“If you go into a Westin hotel, and you love the chair in the corner, take a picture of it,” Hilliard stated. “It submits the picture to the DirectBuy concierge group, and as a member you’ll have that concierge personnel reach out and notify you that they either have that chair, or have a chair that looks just like it. ‘Here’s what the price points are. Would you like me to order it for you?’”
The DirectBuy team gets approximately 200 to 300 “I Want That!” submissions per week, according to Dylan Astle, VP of Member Experience at DirectBuy.
Enhancing Customer Service Through All Channels
Along with its digital transformation, DirectBuy also sought to enhance its customer service process. The final result was the launch of DirectBuy’s Member Care Advocacy Team, a centralized support staff designed to provide customer service to members at all times and through every channel. For example, consumers who aren’t interested in shopping online and don’t have access to a club location or showroom can call into the concierge shopping group to inquire about the products they are interested in.
“We’ve learned that consumers want to self-serve at all costs possible, but if and when they need help, they want us to have expert pros on the phone that can walk them through the process,” Astle explained. “We have a team of agents that are willing and ready to dive over desks to help them get their orders placed.”
The team also includes project coordinators that can not only consult with consumers on their purchases, but create full home furnishing plans. These specialists are active DirectBuy members themselves and follow three core principles throughout their workday:
-
One-stop problem resolution;
-
After hours coverage; and
-
Effective situation recovery.
“For us, it’s about serving the customer wherever they want to be serviced,” Astle concluded. “Whether it’s brick-and-mortar, online, through an app, over the phone or by email.”
